This invention relates to a novel transducer construction and to a novel mounting arrangement for transducers which are used to monitor the condition of a fluid within a conduit, and more specifically relates to a novel transducer configuration which can be easily clamped onto the exterior of a fluid conduit for introducing sonic energy signals into the conduit which can be used to monitor or measure a condition of the fluid, such as its flow rate, and to deliver an electrical output and/or display related to the condition being monitored.
Flowmeters are generally well known to the art and many arrangements have been proposed in the past for monitoring a fluid condition within a conduit, such as a flow rate, by transducers mounted on the exterior of the conduit. By way of example, two transducers can be longitudinally spaced from one another on a fluid-carrying conduit and can be arranged to introduce ultrasonic signals into the pipe in both an upstream and a downstream direction and then compare the length of time taken for the signals to travel upstream and then downstream. The rate of flow of fluid in the conduit can be determined from the difference between the time taken for the signals to travel upstream or downstream.
The present invention provides a novel transducer configuration and spacing which maximizes the amount of signal which can be passed through the fluid and received by the receiving transducer, dependent upon the conduit material and size and the fluids being monitored and reliably controls the angle of the sonic beam passing through the liquid so that an accurate control of flowmeter calibration results.